Del Mar Races

The Offspring 7/25/15

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Whoever is in charge of scheduling at the Del Mar Races always seems to pair the Craft Beer Fest featuring more than 100 craft beers from over 40 local breweries with the rowdiest band playing for the season. It seems like a disaster in the making which is even more reason that Ingrid, Bob, Jasmine and I chose to go see The Offspring again at the very same place I last saw them three years earlier. Their newest album was still Days Go By released right before that last time I had seen them but let’s be real: they did not need new material to promote. The Offspring is always a fun time and have been around long enough and had enough success to release a Greatest Hits album. Part of the reason I love beer is that I know exactly what I am getting every time. The same can be said about The Offspring. There was nothing earth shatteringly different about this performance compared to all the other times I saw them but that consistent awesomeness is exactly what keeps me coming back for more.

SETLIST: All I Want, Bad Habit, Come Out and Play, Coming for You, Mota, Have You Ever, Staring at the Sun, Want You Bad, Genocide, Slim Pickens Does the Right Thing and Rides the Bomb to Hell, Walla Walla, Gone Away, Gotta Get Away, Why Don’t You Get a Job?, Americana, You’re Gonna Go Far, Kid, Pretty Fly (For a White Guy), The Kids Aren’t Alright, (Can’t Get My) Head Around You, Self Esteem

The Offspring 8/10/12

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On August 10th in the year 2012 Ken, Tom and Jason joined me in Del Mar for some horse racing, beer drinking and The Offspring. They were touring for the album Days Go By that was just released about a month and a half before this and the only song I knew on the album was the re-recorded version of “Dirty Magic.” Upon first listening all I could think was “why would they do this?” The original version is so much better and is one of my favorite tracks on Ignition. Humble opinions aside I remember a tight set in which one song rolled into another without much banter between songs. The crowds have always been raucous each time I have seen The Offspring but this time the band actually had to temporarily pause the show after a couple songs in because the barricade in front of the stage had come down. Whoops!

SETLIST: All I Want, Come Out and Play, Days Go By, Have You Ever, Staring at the Sun, Dividing by Zero, Slim Pickens Does the Right Thing and Rides the Bomb to Hell, Bad Habit, Gotta Get Away, You’re Gonna Go Far, Kid, Hit That, Kristy, Are You Doing Okay?, Why Don’t You Get a Job?, Americana, Want You Bad, Pretty Fly (For a White Guy), The Kid’s Aren’t Alright, (Can’t Get My) Head Around You, Self Esteem

Days Go By-Offspring

Weezer 8/6/11

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Apparently Weezer had grown fond of playing the Del Mar horse races as they were back for the second year in a row. I did not mind one bit as they always put on a light-hearted fun show that everyone seems to be in good spirits for. This show in particular had a lot of singing along going on which only backs up the assertion that people were having a good time. The newest album Hurley had now been out almost a full year and the only song they played from the album was “Memories,” which they got out of the way pretty early on.

Part of the fun this year was Weezer’s selection of cover songs. First up was Foster the People’s “Pumped Up Kicks” in which Rivers was holding a sheet with the lyrics for most of the performance. Apparently they just learned how to play it but they nailed it. The other cover they played was Radiohead’s “Paranoid Android.” At first I thought they were just fucking off but they put on a full on serious rendition of the song and it sounded pretty awesome.

SETLIST: Pork N Beans, Surf Wax America, Perfect Situation, Memories, We Are All On Drugs, Pumped Up Kicks (Foster the People), My Name is Jonas, Dope Nose, Island in the Sun, Troublemaker, The Sweater Song, Hash Pipe, Keep Fishin, Photograph, Paranoid Android, Say It Ain’t So, (If You’re Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To, Beverly Hills, Buddy Holly

 

Weezer 8/21/10

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This concert was destined to be a shit show from the start. It was Beer Fest at the Del Mar horse races followed by a Weezer show that was included with the price of admission. To top it off I organized a limo bus to transport at least 15 of my friends and I round trip. Not worrying about having to drive = copious amounts of alcohol consumption.

Weezer’s newest album at the time was Raditude that was released the summer before, but we were just a few weeks from the release of Hurley. This was the third time I had the pleasure of seeing Weezer and I was pretty excited to see them again since it had been almost five years when they opened for Foo Fighters. They did not disappoint. It was a very fun set that included a cover mash-up of “Kids” by MGMT and “Poker Face” by Lady Gaga near the end.

As for the other part of this tale, long story short everyone got trashed and had a great time…until I lost everyone, which was kind of a problem since I was the one who had organized our transportation. The limo driver made us meet him at the AM/PM down the road because it was too crazy for him to try to get back to the entrance of the fairgrounds. Finally someone got ahold of me and spread the word. These were not happy faces that eventually arrived. AM/PM was a little bit of a walk but I think everyone was more upset that I could not be reached for so long. This was partially due to shitty cell reception with so many people in a concentrated area and partially because I was borderline blackout drunk.

Ingrid ended up getting home via the backseat of a random car that she thought her friend was in. It ended up being a car that one of my co-workers at the time was in which I figured out when I put two and two together after he told me a story that sounded awfully familiar to the one she told me the next day.

SETLIST: Hash Pipe, Troublemaker, Undone – The Sweater Song, Surf Wax America, Memories, Perfect Situation, Dope Nose, Say It Ain’t So, Brian’s Theme, Island in the Sun, El Scorcho, My Name is Jonas, Beverly Hills, Pork and Beans, Kids/Poker Face, (If You’re Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To, Buddy Holly